Of Broken Coffee Machines
by WolfRune20855
Summary: The one where Cerise is a barista at a local coffee shop, and Daring's coffee maker is broken.


Ever After Grounds was located on the corner of 17th and Main Street. It was a small cement building that was originally built in the seventies, and as such appeared to be lacking in all style and grace. The interior of the building was by no means any more spectacular than the exterior. The paint was faded, and the chairs were an eclectic mix of wooden, metal, and(in one case) a park bench. The tables were always clean but worn with age.

Ever After Grounds wasn't what Cerise would call pretty, but most of the small, college town didn't care. Ever After grounds had the best coffee anywhere within a twenty mile radius of the campus, and they got a lot of business. There was always a constant stream of college students coming through the door from open until close. All of them with orders for Cerise to fill, and almost never leaving a tip. If Cerise had had the energy to be annoyed, she would have been.

Today, however, was a slow day. For which Cerise was thankful. It meant that between making coffee, espressos, lattes, and whatever else the customers wanted, she could take a moment to herself to work on the report that was due at midnight.

"Cerise." Cerise looked up from the laptop that she had precariously positioned on one of the stainless steel tables behind the counter. She met the eyes of a brown eyed, brown haired girl with glasses.

Rosebella Beauty was two years younger than Cerise, having started her freshman year only three months earlier, and she was still getting used to a few things. She wasn't the best at making coffee-not like Cerise was-and she had broken the espresso machine twice, and the coffee maker once, but she was good at math so they kept her around.

"Is the machine broken again?" Cerise asked.

Rosebella shook her head slowly. "No," she said, "It's not that. It's just...I was wondering if I could get off early. You know because we don't have many customers, and I have a report due at midnight?"

Cerise sighed. Everyone, it would seem, had a report due at midnight. She glanced at the clock on the wall. 10:32. They closed at eleven o'clock anyways. "Sure," Cerise said, "You can head out. Just make sure to clean the bathroom first."

"Thank you so, so much." Rosebella smiled and hopped off to find the cleaning supplies.

Cerise shook her head as she watched the girl leave. Had she ever been that young? She didn't know. With Rosebella gone, though, it was now just her. She'd be closing up by herself, which would prove a disaster if anything was stolen, but the girl needed a break.

Hell, she needed a break.

Cerise picked up her laptop and brought it closer the the front counter and the cash register. She continued her work, and thankfully no one else showed up to buy some coffee. The few people that were in the coffee shop began to clear out, and Cerise felt a smile creep onto her face as the last person left the coffee shop with still fifteen minutes until eleven.

The door opened, and Cerise's eyes snapped up to focus on the most attractive human being she had ever seen. He was tall, with blonde hair, and broad shoulders. Cerise had to hide a smile behind her hand as she took in his outfit. He was wearing a pair of pajama pants and a t-shirt that read GPA Football. Obviously, he was someone who'd decided to stop by before pulling an all nighter.

Cerise saved her paper and closed her laptop. "Welcome to Ever After Grounds," she said as the guy came to stand before her, "What can I get for you?"

His steel grey eyes drifted off of the menu, coming to a rest on Cerise. "Coffee," he said plainly.

"Just coffee?" Cerise asked. Honestly, she was a little bit offended. She could make drinks a million times better than plain black coffee. Whatever. Money was money, even if it was a measly three bucks.

"Yeah."

"Okay," Cerise said, tearing her eyes off of the gorgeous man in front of her to punch in the price, "That will be three dollars." The guy handed over three ones. "And this is for?"

"Daring," the guy said.

"Alrightly. One black coffee for a Mr. Daring," Cerise said as if there were someone else in the shop other than the two of them. She reached for the coffee pot, where it was kept warm, only to find that it was empty. Dammit. "Sorry," Cerise apologized, "I have to make a new batch."

"That's fine," said Daring, "I probably should be the one apologizing for coming in so late."

Cerise shook her head. "We're still open, aren't we?" He chuckled softly as she began preparing the coffee. "So, what brings you to our fine establishment so late this night to order a cup of plain, old, boring coffee?"

Daring raised an eyebrow, and Cerise almost laughed. "What do you have against plain, old, boring coffee?"

"Nothing." Cerise shrugged.

"Sure," Daring said sarcastically, "But, to answer your question, my roommate broke our coffee maker."

"That sucks," Cerise said, "I'm guessing that you just found this out after you decided to pull an all nighter too?"

"How'd you guess?" Daring smiled.

"The pajamas." Cerise laughed as Daring looked down at his pajamas, then turned a shade of red that she had never seen before. "Don't worry, they're cute."

"Cute isn't what I was going for," Daring mumbled to himself.

"What class are you staying up for?" Cerise inquired once the coffee finished grinding and began to fill the pot.

"Shakespearian Lit," Daring said. Cerise nodded, impressed. The guy with a obvious high school football shirt was an english major. "Have you taken it?"

Cerise snorted. "Yeah, no. English isn't really my thing."

"What is your thing?" Daring asked, leaning against the counter.

"I'm a mechanical engineer," Cerise said. The coffee finished draining, and she poured it into a paper cup.

Daring let out a whistle. "Color me impressed," he said.

Cerise smiled. "Here's your coffee," she said, handing Daring his coffee.

"Thanks," Daring said. He took a sip of the coffee. "A mechanical engineer, and you make a killer cup of coffee. Is there anything that you can't do?"

For some odd reason, Cerise felt the blood rushing to her cheeks. "Um...I can't write your Shakespearian Lit paper."

"Well, good ol' Billy Shakes isn't for everyone," Daring said, "Thanks for the coffee."

"You're welcome."

"Next time, I'll make sure to order something other than plain, old, boring coffee," Daring said as he reached the door.

"Next time?"

Daring smiled. "Next time," he said, "After all, my coffee maker's broken, and it's probably going to be that way for a very long time."

Cerise couldn't help but grin.


End file.
